>> one of the first to cast the vote in israel's election. you're watching "al jazeera."

we meet a boy who feels betrayed by the world. the u.n. intervenes in the south china seas. police officers in mexico say they have had enough. israelis are voting in their general election. binyamin netanyahu is a clear favorite to win another term in office. we're covering the election for us of there. is it shaping up? .> we're in west jerusalem there have been a steady trickle of voters coming and.

sraelis are is re eligible to vote. it looks like to be a good turnout. the question is to what extend binyamin netanyahu can claim a mandate for victory. prime minister binyamin netanyahu casting his ballot. >> want them to succeed. >> he has a commanding lead in all polls. there are new kids on israel's political bloc. >> he is trying to make this campaign a personal campaign on his ability to be the prime minister. yes or no?

specific questions about policies. >> the votes have been dominating the headlines. the likud party ran on a single ballad. have lost support to this man. they appealed to the rising nationalism in israeli politics concentrated in jewish settlements in the occupied west bank. >> our goal is to unite the state of israel. >> says he will promote jewish values as well as easing the economic strain on families. another man of the moment is the former tv personality and is vying for enough votes for a possible coalition party.

they are making the economy their main issue. shimon peres will decide whether to give binyamin netanyahu the first chance of forming a coalition. that is a process that took five weeks after the last election. let's talk about the situation after the election. it sounds like putting together a coalition will be tricky. >> it appears so. the last government all molested two years. then the labor party pulled out . in this case it might be even more complicated. binyamin netanyahu, if he is given the first nod, will have 28 days to form a coalition.

then he has another 12 days. the question is whether some other party will be asked to put together a coalition. any kind of coalition would veer to the right. if he could do that with a minimum of cooperation would be his preference. >> thank you for reporting to us live from jerusalem. you can see our front page at zeera.com. the first explosion was caused by a car bomb about 30 kilometers south of baghdad.

no one has claimed responsibility. activists are reporting two large explosions on the outskirts of damascus. areas have come under heavy shelling for the second day in a row. one town, thousands of syrians fleeing the violence and up in camps and many have been nammaid for life. have more. >> this is inside syria. thousands of people forced to leave their homes. they have nowhere to go. there is fighting nearby and a can i get into turkey. the. so dangerous.

eight cherries cannot deliver food and clothing. there is no infrastructure here. these people have to walk for hours to get drinking water. there is widespread anger among people that feel betrayed by the world. >> the international community has to do something. the regime is slowing us. >> this child was woken up by a deafening explosion. the doctors told his father he will not be able to hear again. he lost his hand in an air strike. he said conditions are very tough. they blame the syrian opposition for doing nothing to relieve the suffering.

we're in the camp. there are orphans and people are disabled. where is the help you said you would provide? you are stealing our money. the only food rations are received from a turkey charity and our meager. this is a widow. she sends her chosen to the mountains to collect plants and fire woulood. there are few latrines, raising the rest in the camp. these children have no toys to play with. they improvise with pebbles. the adults turned a field into a football pitch.

a moment to relax in a war zone. families continue to arrive into the camp. their last hope is turkey's building refugee camps and allowing them into the country. >> t a regime change for japan -- it is a regime change for japan. it has taken an open ended commitment to buying assets. the government has been pushing for a plan to kickstart japan's economy. >> stovall, this opens a wide passageway towards gold monetary easing. i believe this is a groundbreaking statement.

>> a chief strategist at bbc partners. he says the new policies will revamp the image of the bank of japan. >> the market's reaction today is somewhat skeptical. and inflation target from 1%-2% was somewhat skeptical. january 2014 wait before the purchases kick in. the yen is stronger. the stock market is down. the ultimate aim was for the gdp to pick up. any degree of skepticism in the

market at the moment. the politicians are leaning on the open door. think they will leave office on the eighth of april. this is a bit of a warning shot across the tobbow. the government has a chance to remake the image of the bank of japan and make it far more supportive. >> the latest on the offensive against rebels in northern mali as the situation worsens for refugees. obama part two. he starts his second term with easy steps.

>> welcome back. you can see systems across the whole of europe. we're seeing further snowe in many areas. it is the same situation on road and rail transport. we are expecting further snow in the forecast. it does pick up on heavy snow across the caribbean peninsula. there could be some real problems. we have a lot of snow and then will continue for the next few days. it is cold across scandinavia. minus 7 degrees in stockholm.

we have brisk winds in algeria. 11 degrees in algiers. seasonal rains pushing it across africa. v.

>> welcome back. israel's prime minister has cast his ballot as polls open for parliamentary elections. he is a favorite to win another term in office but he will meet to form a coalition. this video shows a town which is close to a military base. japan's central bank has taken a bold step to kickstart the economy and taken on a commitment to buy assets. a japanese delegation has arrived in china to try to repair talks.

both countries claim sovereignty. in another dispute involving china, the philippines says it will challenge chinese claims of the united nations. they claim sovereignty over islands in the south china sea. we have more from hong kong. what does the philippines hoped the u.n. will be able to do? there are not any powers of enforcement. >> what this is is not so much one thing to say who owns what. all these countries are on the south china seas and china are signatories to the united nations convention on the wall of the sea.

they are obliged to uphold the agreements that were agreed to in this united nations convention. one thing they agreed was 200 nautical miles was an expectation zone that belonged to the country. meaning to hundred nautical miles from the philippines, they have the right to explore and use the resources. this is what the philippines is challenging china on. there is a claim with the u.n. saying all this territory belongs to china. it has meant more and more encroachments of chinese vessels in areas that the philippines claims as its own. it is challenging china to accept that the philippines does have the rights to explore in

this area and that china is asking the u.n. convention to basically sustained the philippines as the sole beneficiary of this area around its 200 nautical miles shoreline. >> more clashes and more protests. why is it becoming contentious these days? >> this is just one of the issues chine is having to deal with. there is a water claim on many areas. you mention some islands in japan. there are islands that said in the middle of the south china sea. these sit in what seemed to be reached and abundant maritime areas. there is a lot of fish to be had and a lot of natural gas

reserves believed to be sitting under the seabed in those areas. there is international trade that cuts across these waters. it is a matter of freedom of navigation. many of these countries do not want china to be in sole control of these trade routes. >> troops have retaken two seven shall towns in their fight in the north and now back in ands,.handn h >> the rebels fled on sunday leaving the troops to retake the town. >> it is reassuring with the help of the french troops.

there could be some pockets of enemy resistance. >> it was the furthest south the rebels had reached. in troops were fostering the goals set by their president. >> our objective was to stop the terrorist offensive and to allow the malian army to win back cities. that is being done now. to enable mali to get back and we know that will take part time. >> those african troops have been arriving slowly over the past few days. the aim is to have a force of several thousand to take over ground operations from the french. >> we met to coordinate the

employment so the african forces can be deployed quickly. >> the job of securing recaptured towns and then malian allies. many cases, the rebels melted back into the towns of the civilians. vast stretches of desert to the north are still held by groups linked to al qaeda. a long fight lies ahead. >> the international aid agency is warning that fighting in mali could restrict the delivery of aid there. 10,000 malians fled their

homes. that added to the thousands of people already displaced after the unrest. neighboring countries have to absorb the largest number of refugees. they have taken in tens of thousands. >> they are focusing on providing health care in the hospital where we're giving support to the authorities. we're also focusing on the framework for the protection of international law. access and distribution of assistance. >> barack obama celebrated the start of his second term as president. he delivered a speech to

thousands gathered in the mall in washington. he told them to seize the moment. >> ♪ god bless amerca >> this is the day he fought so hard for. barack obama gets another chance to change america. >> i will faithfully execute the office -- >> his sweeping view was of a smaller crowd compared to four years ago. >> we have the obligation to shape the debates of wartime with the voices we lift in defense of our most enduring ideas. >> the president used his speech as a kind of a call to action.

from climate change to the tax code, he promised reforms. >> our interests compel us to act on those who long for freedom. >> every word was meant to reinforce a progressive agenda. >> our agenda is not clear unless everybody is treated equally under the law. >> the theme of racial and sexual equality was front and center, i think a lot of the second term will be devoted to a lot of other things. >> the president takes one last look noting he will not ever see this again. he will not be the focus of

another 9000-person parade. he could barely stop himself from dancing until he got the chance to, for he begins what is expected to be a fierce fight with congress if he hopes to make any additions to his legacy. companybia's state oil is planning rebels for an explosion of a pipeline. it cost a small spill -- it caused a small sill. pill. a truce was declared. at least 60,000 people have been killed in the past six years. many police officers have also died in the line of duty.

are leaving the force because they say it is no longer worth the risk. >> armed men held this entire town hostage for 48 hours. two were dead and a police officer was kidnapped. message that they could be next. most of the police officer resigned. he says he no longer felt his badge and gun the from the authority he needed to enforce the law. >> we are easy targets for these heartless criminals. >> he agreed to return to work after the army sent in reinforcements. the army has set up checkpoints

throughout the city. they are trying to reinforce the local police. local police throughout the country are often victims of the violence they try to battle. they are no match for criminal gains who, they sometimes go and work for. >> we feel totally helpless. what are the solutions? >> vigilante justice is fast becoming the norm in mexico. the police cannot stop the criminals. men from the village set up an armed checkpoints after a corpse was found in the mountains. >> week decided to do this

because we needed to protect ourself. >> he investigates a break-in. he is happy to be back at work. >> if my family is ever threatened, that would be my limits. >> that means protecting themselves. >> france and germany are celebrating 50 years since a treaty after two world wars. they don't always see eye to eye. >> passing the torch. the leaders welcomed members from both countries